Roses and Red Velvet Kisses
by kitchenparty
Summary: (Completely self-indulgent Franada fluff oneshot) Matthew tries to surprise his husband with a romantic anniversary present


Matthew was softly woken from his sleep by a gentle hand running through his hair and a kiss placed on his lips, still half-asleep as he slowly opened his eyes to look at his husband.

"G'mmmmorningg…" he yawned, stretching a bit and wrapping his arms around Francis's waist.

"I didn't mean to wake you, mon amour. I'll be back before you know it darling, go back to sleep…"

* * *

Matthew was woken again, this time by his alarm clock. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he yawned, stretching himself again and then drowsily reaching for his glasses. He sighed as he looked at the empty bed next to him, both upset and elated by the fact that Francis wasn't able to get out of work today. After all, it _was_ their anniversary, anyone would be upset if they had to work through that.

But with Francis at work today, it meant Matthew _finally _had a chance to surprise Francis with something special for the occasion.

For the first two years of their marriage and the four years they were dating before that, Francis never failed at being the one to totally overwhelm Matthew with gifts and surprises and outrageously romantic and heartfelt dinners. And every year he managed to come up with something more spectacular than the last, making Matthew's contributions seem… sub-par.

But not this year.

No, this year _Matthew_ was going to blow _Francis_ away with romantic mushiness. Starting by making him his favorite cake.

Now wide awake with anticipation, Matthew flew out of bed, quickly showering and getting dressed. Nothing was going to get in his way today, and he was going to make his husband feel just as amazing and loved as he deserved to feel.

* * *

...Is a cake supposed to look like that?

Matthew stared at the reddish, misshapen _blob_ in the baking tin in front of him, somehow raw in some parts yet nearly burned in others. Batter had raised up the sides and ran back down the outside of the tin, dripping into the oven and making an even bigger mess.

The entire kitchen was coated with flour after an incident involving a heavy sneezing fit, and while the recipe only called for a single egg, there must've been a dozen shells in the trash since Matthew kept dropping them. In an attempt to stop sneezing and to move the eggs to a safer location, Matthew had elbowed the bag of sugar, causing it to spill all over the countertop and the floor below it.

As if to add insult to injury, the pitiful little cake in the tin suddenly deflated, batter leaking out of the bottom where the seal had been broken.

Matthew sunk to his knees in the middle of the kitchen floor, tears welling up in his eyes and blurring his vision. Why was he crying? It's… It's just a cake… Th-This… This wasn't something… worth cr-crying over…

But the tears came anyway, and Matthew found himself powerless to stop them, burying his face in Francis's apron he had borrowed as he sobbed tears of frustration. Noticing the rather large, wet stain he had created upon the front didn't help either, and he only continued to cry harder.

It was around that time Matthew heard the front door swing open, Francis walking in with his arms full of roses and a big smile across his face.

"_Mathieu_, I'm home!~ I felt so lonely not spending the day with you that I had to leave early- Mon amour, what happened? You are not hurt, are you?" Francis instantly became concerned, setting the flowers on the countertop and dropping to his knees in front of the disheveled Canadian.

Matthew tried wiping away his tears on his sleeve before Francis could see, his red, puffy eyes giving him away nonetheless. He felt a gentle hand lift his chin, making him look up and into the breathtakingly beautiful blue eyes of his husband. Choking back another sob, Matthew vaguely gestured to the room around them.

"S-Sorry… I-I… I wanted to surprise you… You always get me such wonderful gifts, and I wanted to repay you… B-But I just made a big mess out of it… I'm sorry…"

Francis looked around at the room for a moment, noticing the 'cake' in the tin on the stove and the mess of flour and eggs and sugar coating the rest of the kitchen. He then turned his focus back on Matthew, his eyes surprisingly tender as he hugged him tightly to his chest, kissing the top of his head.

"Ah, I will not deny you the mess… But you've already given me a wonderful gift, mon chou… And that is that I get to spend the rest of our lives cleaning up these messes with you~ So please don't cry, my love..."

And so, kneeling in the middle of their kitchen floor on their anniversary, Francis's arms holding him tightly while he slowly breathed in and out, Matthew suddenly felt strangely at peace. Because, like Francis had said, Matthew had every year for the rest of their lives to blow him away…

Every year for the rest of their lives to try his hardest and make Francis feel just as loved as Matthew felt.

And as Matthew returned the hug, he let himself sink into Francis's chest.

The mess didn't seem so big anymore.


End file.
